At 1.5 years your young kid is at an age where they would amaze you each day by showing different tricks and by becoming animated due to the least interesting thing. By this age your sweet baby has started talking and walking, yet they are so young and fragile with a lot of important development stages ahead of them. Such an age is exciting for parents, because they come to enjoy each of their kid’s new development.
What Are the Important 18 Month Milestones for an Baby?
1. Physical Development
Now your kid is 18 months old and has undergone a lot of physical development. A major result of this physical development is the enhanced movement of your baby. At this age your baby would be able to drinking from the cup on their own and would also have the ability to eat with the spoon. Your baby would also be helping while changing dress. In addition to hand movement, babies start walking, climbing steps and even running at this age. Your baby might even be able to pull toys while moving around.
2. Cognitive Development
Another important component of a baby’s development in the first 18 months is cognitive development. At this age your toddler would be able to follow your instructions when you would ask them to do something. Your kids now knows simple things with which they have interaction on a daily basis. Your baby at the age of 18 months might have developed a liking for stuffed animals or dolls and would love to play with them. Scratching things and pointing towards different people to gain their attention are also signs of the mental development of a baby. Your baby might even have learnt parts of his body and would point to a body part when you ask them about a specific one.
3. Social and Emotional Development
Most children at this age are curious about interesting things but want to find about them only when parents are near. They are fearful of guests and remain close to those whom they know. Most children at 18 months old instinctively attach themselves to parents when they are facing something they have not seen before. Children at this age are also able to play act and have learnt pointing at things which they find amusing. This is the age when children start to have outbursts showing their annoyance with something or someone.
4. Communication Development
Though your baby would have started walking, but talking does not come easily to them. At 18 months old they have only learnt saying single words. In order to express their desire for something, children of this age usually point towards that thing. Your baby would also be conveying his acceptance or denial by shaking his head showing “no” or nodding to show “yes”.
Watch this video and learn more about an 18 month milestones for a baby:
How Can I Help My Baby's 18 Month Milestones Develop?
1. Stimulate Babies’ Motor Development
- Let your baby learn the ability to use fingers and hands
He already knows how to scribble; now you should provide your toddler with different hand-held toys to improve his grip and control. A toy piano to make your baby learn control of their fingers and a bubble wand to improve holding skills are two such toys.
- Arrange Olympics for your baby
They already know how to walk and climb steps, so you must help them learn more. You can do this by making them a challenge course which is safe and yet makes them climb different things and go past different obstacles.
2. Help Babies Develop Language Skills
- Improve language skills by asking simple questions
Your baby has learnt using single words, so you make him speak out words by asking simple questions. Would you like banana or chocolate for snack? Such questions would help your child learn new words.
- Give words to your baby’s gestures
For example, if your baby is pointing at a butterfly, you can say that this is a butterfly you are pointing at. Such sentences would help your baby learn sentence formation.
- Create stories and rhymes and have fun together by joint reading and singing
Combined singing and reading presents language in a fun form and can make your baby interested in words. Your toddler can learn a lot more quickly if they are interested in a particular activity.
3. Encourage Their Emotional Development
- Try to understand your baby’s emotions by reading related books
Reading books that discuss emotions felt by children make you better aware and prepared for handling the different emotions and feelings felt by your baby. This will make you understand when your baby is sad and when he is happy and the reasons for such emotions.
- Be cool while baby has tantrums
It is important that whatever you do while your baby is having one of his tantrums, it must involve your remaining cool and calm. You must not react to the tantrum at all; otherwise, the tantrum might last longer than usual. You can do a number of things to calm down yourself and that includes counting to 10 or doing a thing which stops you from reacting immediately.
4. Promote Babies’ Cognitive Development
- Make your baby practice the same task by repeating it more than once
In order to master or learn a new skill or activity, your baby has to perform it again and again. It would obviously be very boring for you to watch them do the same thing again and again, but it is important for your toddler’s development.
- Once your baby learns a skill, make it a bit more challenging
Forcing your child to face a new problem and solve it greatly enhances their problem solving ability, a skill they would need a lot in their coming life.
